(Not) Boring Books to spark your interests and creativity

Author’s Note: Why I Made “Are You Bored?” – and What I Love About These Other Boredom Books

Are You Bored? by Monika Marzec

A quiet, poetic conversation between author and reader that invites children to pause, notice, and rediscover wonder in the everyday. With its reflective tone and rich illustrations, Are You Bored? turns stillness into a spark for creativity.

When I first started working on Are You Bored?, I was thinking about how often boredom is misunderstood. Grown-ups often see it as something to fix like we have to fill the silence or offer constant entertainment. But when a child says, “I’m bored,” it’s not necessarily a complaint. Sometimes, it’s an opening. A quiet invitation to slow down, get curious, and notice what’s already around us. That idea became the heart of my story.

When creating Are You Bored?, I wasn’t telling a story in the traditional sense but rather starting a conversation. The book doesn’t follow a main character or a classic plot. Instead, it speaks directly to the reader, gently asking questions, noticing things around them, and nudging their imagination awake. The three children in the illustrations reflect the world of the reader: still, curious, a little restless, and brimming with quiet potential.

What fascinated me about boredom wasn’t how to “fix” it but how to listen to it. I wanted to create space for children to pause and realize that boredom isn’t empty. It’s full of clues. Through calm questions and poetic observations, Are You Bored? invites readers to slow down, pay attention, and rediscover joy in ordinary moments especially in book as they are the open door that invites us to a new and unknown world full of imagination and potential.

That’s why I love pairing it with books like The Bored Book by Dianne Schramm and Zane Craigmile, which also transforms boredom into something open-ended and creative. Their story encourages kids to re-think the meaning of boredom. While their style is more narrative and visual, the spirit is similar - an invitation to explore the world..

On the other hand, The Most Boring Book Ever by Brandon Sanderson and Kazu Kibuishi flips the concept entirely on its head. It’s playful and ironic, showing how dull narration can be a disguise for wild, visual imagination. Where Are You Bored? is direct and conversational, this one is bold and surprising. Together, these books offer kids a full spectrum of ways to engage with boredom from quiet reflection to wild invention.

That’s also what led me to create the Are You Bored? Activity Book. It’s not a collection of instructions but rather a creative companion. Each page encourages kids to explore their thoughts, senses, and surroundings. It’s about noticing what’s already there and realizing that imagination doesn’t need a screen or a script. It just needs a little space.

Reading The Bored Book by Dianne Schramm and Zane Craigmile, I felt a lovely sense of kindred intention. Their book leans into stillness too, encouraging kids to find creativity in simple, quiet ways especially through imagination and quiet moments. It reminded me of how my own book grew out of long sketching sessions, where I allowed my ideas to wander without pressure. I love how The Bored Book turns white space into an invitation.

Then there’s The Most Boring Book Ever by Brandon Sanderson and Kazu Kibuishi, which adds a totally different and brilliant spin. While my book moves slowly in invitational tone, theirs is a playful contrast between flat narration and wild, epic illustrations. It’s bold and funny, a great reminder that boredom can also be reimagined with humor and contrast. It celebrates imagination in its loudest, most visual form, and I think that makes it a perfect companion to stories like mine that speak to the reader directly with just a hint of joke.

I also created the Are You Bored? Activity Book as a way to keep the story going after the last page. It’s not just coloring or puzzles but it’s also full of prompts that encourage daydreaming, mindful play, and creative thinking. It’s designed to help kids notice things they might otherwise overlook: shadows, sounds, and above all the stories that wait to be discovered. Boredom isn’t the enemy and shouldn’t be treated as such. It’s the soil where creativity grows. And every one of these books, in their own way, proves it.

Are You Bored? Activity Book by Monika Marzec

A creative companion filled with prompts for mindful play, drawing, imagining, and exploring the world around you. Designed to deepen the experience of the picture book and offer new ways for kids to turn boredom into discovery.

The Bored Book by Dianne Schramm
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Boredom Strikes, Creativity Arises

For anyone who has ever felt BORED - that’s the opening refrain of The Bored Book, setting a tone that many families will instantly recognize. Schramm uses that familiar groan of boredom as a launchpad, acknowledging the frustration children feel when they have “nothing” to do. But rather than offering canned activities or lists, the book shifts perspective: boredom isn’t a problem to solve—it’s a canvas for imagination.

Zane Craigmile’s illustrations accompany the text perfectly- from the moment the boredom strikes through a palette of imaginative plays to a quiet time when the boredom is appreciated (specially by parents needing a moment after busy day). There’s a delightful visual interpretation of the boredom in all the pages where single color is introduces in a simple, but meaningful illustration, showing kids that even “nothing” can become something delightful with just a spark of curiosity.

What makes The Bored Book shine is how it gently empowers children without lecturing. Instead of telling them “do this!” or “go here!”, it whispers, “we're only bored if we choose to be!” It models that feeling listless isn’t failure—it’s opportunity. And by inviting readers to dream up their own funs and plays in response, the book becomes interactive in spirit if not in actual pages. It even encourages families to pause, reflect, and share the quiet moments, which are also needed.

In the lineup with The Most Boring Book Ever and Are You Bored?, The Bored Book plays a vital role. It doesn’t just subvert boredom; it hands it back to the child, ready-made for transformation. Schramm and Craigmile offer a playful, open‑ended exploration rather than a tidy resolution while perfectly honoring kids’ boundless creativity. Ideal for ages 3–7, this book invites readers to see boredom not as a wall, but as a doorway into imagination.

View all my reviews

The Most Boring Book Ever by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Spoiler: It’s Not Boring At All

At first glance, The Most Boring Book Ever lives up to its title—on purpose. With a narrator who insists nothing exciting is happening, we’re warned early: “A boy sat in a chair. Nothing else happened.” But from the first page, kids will realize something odd is going on. The text may be dull, but the illustrations are exploding with color, chaos, and imagination. That boy in the chair? He’s sailing sky-high on an airship surrounded by dragons. The story says “boring,” but the pictures scream otherwise.

Brandon Sanderson plays a brilliant trick here. He leans into the monotony of language, only to let Kazu Kibuishi’s artwork do all the talking. While the narrator insists we’re watching someone fold laundry or do homework, the illustrations show epic battles, flying machines, wild creatures, and daring escapes. It’s a perfect example of visual storytelling done right - making kids laugh as they realize they’re in on the joke. The boredom is a setup. The magic is in the margins.

This book doesn’t just play with humor but also with expectation. It invites children to look closer, to question what they're being told, and to trust their own sense of wonder. For parents and educators, it’s a great springboard for conversations about perception, imagination, and how stories can be told in more than one way. It turns the idea of “boring” inside out, suggesting that even the most ordinary moments can be filled with secret adventures if we choose to see them.

Placed alongside The Bored Book by Dianne Schramm and Zane Craigmile, and Are You Bored? by Monika Marzec, this title adds a clever twist to the boredom conversation. Where those books explore how to cope with or reframe boredom, The Most Boring Book Ever shows how it can be completely reimagined. It’s a joyfully subversive read that gets funnier and more insightful each time you turn the page.

View all my reviews

Final Thoughts

Boredom isn't the end - it's the beginning. Whether through a whispered question, a burst of color, or a quiet page of possibility, each of these books proves that boredom holds the key to something deeper: creativity, imagination, and self-discovery. The Bored Book, The Most Boring Book Ever, and Are You Bored? may take different paths, but they share the same destination - inviting children to slow down, look around, and realize that their next big adventure might already be within them.

If you’re a parent, teacher, or simply someone who’s heard the words “I’m bored” more times than you can count, I encourage you to explore these boredom-themed picture books. Together, they offer a refreshing reminder: boredom isn’t something to fear but something to explore. Let these stories open the door to creativity for the children in your life (and maybe even for you).

Let boredom be the spark, not the silence.
Happy reading, happy wandering.